I recently penned an op-ed outlining why Governor Brown of Oregon should commute all of the state’s death row inmates’ sentences to life without parole, and it was published in the Bend Bulletin.

The Oregon death penalty is like any other state’s capital punishment system. It’s incredibly expensive, and a new study revealed the high costs. I wrote,

The Oregon Justice Resource Center commissioned two academics from the region to investigate the expenses associated with the death penalty, and they concluded that each capital case can cost anywhere from $800,000 to more than $1 million beyond the cost of life without parole.

Oregonians bankroll these expenses even though Oregon has historically shied away from carrying out executions, with two notable exceptions. Nevertheless, if Oregon politicians decided to resume executions, then potentially innocent lives would be at risk:

One only has to look to one of the 35 individuals on Oregon’s death row — Jesse Lee Johnson. He was sentenced to die in 2003, but recent investigations have cast significant doubt on his guilt. This includes DNA and other evidence that have been gathered. Hopefully, Johnson will receive a fair hearing regarding his innocence claims, but there’s no telling how many others on Oregon’s death row may be innocent. So long as the 35 remain there and another gubernatorial administration can resume executions, Oregon runs the chance of a wrongful execution.

I closed by stating,

The death penalty across the United States is plagued with irreparable flaws, and Oregon’s capital punishment system is no different. However, there is a straightforward remedy for Oregon — granting clemency to those on death row. This will save the taxpayers from continuing to fund a wasteful program and limit the chance of a wrongful execution. This is well within the governor’s power. She can commute all death sentences but still keep those convicted of murder incarcerated in order to protect society. This will relieve the taxpayers’ burden of bankrolling the high costs associated with the current death row inmates and mitigate the chance of executing the innocent.